Premier League leaders Arsenal are said to be confident that head coach Arsene Wenger will finally put pen to paper on a new bumper three-year deal that will keep the Frenchman at the Emirates beyond the end of this season, according to reports in the Daily Mirror.

The north London club and Wenger have been in discussions over the contract extension ever since last summer, however, the 64-year-old wanted to first wait and see if the Gunners would qualify from the group stages of this season’s Uefa Champions League before deciding whether or not to sign the £24 million deal.

But with the north Londoners now safely through to the knockout phase of Europe’s premier club competition following Wednesday night’s nervy 2-0 loss to Serie A outfit Napoli in Naples, it is expected that Wenger will shortly agree to extend his stay in the capital beyond the summer.

So far in this campaign Arsenal have made an eye-catching start to the season, with the club currently top of the Premier League after the first 15 rounds of matches, five points clear of both second-placed Liverpool and third-in-the-table Chelsea.